Description
Book SynopsisThis book is focused on the mentoring process, a popular higher education initiative that is often used to promote retention and academic success. The central purpose is to unveil the hidden curriculum and provide a blueprint for both students and teachers on how to navigate the institutional culture of higher education.
Trade ReviewNotably best suited for administrators and faculty within institutions of higher education, this text would also be insightful to any reader interested in education reform, academic advising and mentoring, and social equity in education. . . .Perhaps what I found most helpful in the book were the multitude of fictionalized examples (based on actual experiences of students and mentors) of the hidden curriculum in action which illuminated for me the variety of struggles many at-risk students face. * Reflective Teaching *
The long-term interests of the country demand that more students get into and graduate from college, and Buffy Smith outlines what needs to happen if first generation students are going to succeed. She offers us portraits of students in college and then delineates the challenges they face in their educational journeys. Smith suggests that mentoring, rightly constructed, can help ‘at-risk’ students succeed and that the real challenge is to help students navigate an environment with which they are not familiar. Thoughtful, engaging and nicely written, Undergraduate Curricular Peer Mentoring Programs provides helpful hints for both mentor and mentee to help students succeed. -- William G. Tierney, University Professor & Wilbur-Kieffer Pr, Director, Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Buffy Smith brings together theory, research, and practice to convey an urgent, poignant picture of what is at stake for under-served students in college. By illuminating elements of the hidden curriculum, she provides a road map to success for low-income, first-generation college students and the educators who work alongside them. Based on empirical data and professional insight, the book adds an important perspective to the growing literature on college student success. -- Kristen Renn, Michigan State University
Mentoring At-Risk Students through the Hidden Curriculum of Higher Education offers a unique window into deepening our understanding about who is and who is not achieving ‘The American Dream.’ Grounded in solid research, Buffy Smith examines issues related to access, advising, affordability, mentoring relationships, the curriculum and institutional culture, and makes implications for faculty, administrators, policy makers, students, and institutional leaders for reshaping higher education institutions into places where the desire to achieve a post-secondary education is not just a mission or dream, but a reality! -- Christine A. Stanley, Texas A&M University
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Invest Now or Pay Later Chapter 2: Learning at the Margins Chapter 3: Decoding the Hidden Curriculum Chapter 4: Transforming Mentoring Programs Chapter 5: Play to Win: Learn the Rules Chapter 6: Overcoming Mentoring Barriers: Do Not Give Up Conclusion Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C
